


Who We Are

by Kaurudim



Series: DNAngel Part 2 Project [2]
Category: D.N. Angel
Genre: Canon - Manga, Canon Continuation, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-14
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-14 16:38:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4571835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaurudim/pseuds/Kaurudim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takeshi shows up to Daisuke’s house curious about his sudden absence from the Dance Party, and as events unfold it turns out Daisuke isn’t the only one with secrets to hide…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who We Are

After everything that had happened to him over the past week or so–hell, over the past _year_ –Daisuke had learned to be grateful for the small things.

That the Dance Party was on a Friday, and was thus followed by a weekend, was one of those things.

Of course, that didn’t mean all was well in Daisuke’s world.  He had managed to stop any damage from getting larger, but it was still _there_. And, as if refusing to let himself forget about it, he continued to stare at his phone while flipping it around in his hand.  Since crashing last night, he hadn’t moved from his bed despite it already being well past noon.

His family still didn’t know.  Silently and unanimously, they had decided it was best not to let anyone else know.

_Please call me when you feel okay, and remember I trust you._

__I trust you, and I trust Dark-san. I just wanted you to know that._   
_

“Riku-san…Harada-san…”

**Moping around isn’t gonna do anything, you know** _._

Daisuke rolled around, pressing his face into the pillow.  "As if you’ve been doing anything else,“ he mumbled.  "What kind of plan could fix something like this? I think we’ve used all our chances already.”

Dark clicked his tongue in what Daisuke figured was reluctant agreement, leaving him to return his attention to the phone…

When it suddenly rang.

After hours spent in near silence, the combination of the shrill ringtone and the vibration in his hands shocked Daisuke to his knees, which resulted in him dropping the offending device so spectacularly it fell under his desk.

“W-who could be calling me on Saturday afternoon…?” Daisuke mumbled as he climbed off the bed.

 **I only saw the caller ID for a second before you decided to play baseball with it** , Dark remarked with a smirk, **but I think it might be that dumbass friend of yours.**

“Eh?….oh, you’re right.” Daisuke picked up the phone and opened it immediately to answer, still on hands and knees under his desk.  “Saehara?”

“Yo, Daisuke!” his voice came through the speaker louder than should have been strictly necessary.  “Say, you wouldn’t happen to be mopin’ around at home, would ya?”

“Ah–th–What’s _that_ supposed to mean?!”

Daisuke’s anger was simply greeted with a loud, booming laugh. “Ah, don’t worry about it! Is anyone else home with you right now?”

_…hm?_

**That’s a strange question**.

“…No.  Well, mostly no.  The only one home besides me is Ar–the butler.” Daisuke finally answered.  “Why ask that?”

There was some strange muffled arguing on the other line before Takeshi finally returned to the call. “Seems like you left the party last night in a hurry, so I was wondering if you were feelin’ alright and if you were eatin’ proper–ohh _cut it out already_ don’t ya see what I’m doing?!  Nothing’ll get done if you don’t leave me alone!”

“Saehara?”

No answer.

“Um, Saehara? Is everything okay?”

“Huh? Ahhh, yeah yeah, don’t worry. Just, uh, my old man being a right pain in the ass.” Saehara snapped amidst the sounds of struggle. “Say, mind if I come over for a bit? I really am worried.”

 _Let Saehara come over?_ Daisuke mulled over the thought.  It wasn’t as if he had sworn off company, but returning so jovially to normalcy still didn’t strike him as _right_.  There was still too much to fix, too much to worry about.

**Let him.**

“Dark…?”

“What was that?” came Saehara’s tinny reply.

“Y-yeah, sure!  Come on over, I’ll meet–” Daisuke sighed at Dark’s protestations. “–I’m sure the butler can get you at the door. I don’t think I should get out of bed.”

“Yeesh, that bad? Alright, I’m on my way! Be there in five!” Without waiting for any kind of confirmation from Daisuke, Takeshi cut the connection.

Daisuke closed his own phone with a sigh and moved to stand only to realize that he was still kneeling halfway under his desk.  He leaned back on his legs with a weary sigh, mulling over the phone call.

**Get back in bed. You still seem too worn out from last night.**

He says it so easily, as if he wasn’t the one that felt the brunt of it.

“Yeah, I guess,” Daisuke remarks quietly. “Let’s hope I can crawl back before Saehara arrives.”

Somehow, neither of the two realized what letting Takeshi into a mostly-empty household actually meant.

* * *

Just as Daisuke promised, Argentine quietly (and awkwardly) let Takeshi inside the Niwa household when he arrived.  He easily found his way to Daisuke’s room, having made the short trip more times than Takeshi was sure he could count.

Still, the house had a strange unknowable quality despite those many visits.  And every time he did enter its mysterious walls, he had to quell his desire for knowledge and dodge the temptation to start pounding on those _very_ suspicious areas on the walls and floors to see if they actually did something.

An undercurrent of dread under all that certainly did help.  And the cameras that always went missing.

“Guess they won’t go strangely missing this time, huh,” he murmured before knocking on Daisuke’s door.

And then entering, because what use was there in waiting?

“Yo, Daisuke.” He said, immediately walking to the chair at Daisuke’s desk and sitting on it backwards. “Man, you really do look like crap.”

“Hey, Saehara.” Daisuke laughed weakly at Takeshi’s lack of filter, but couldn’t exactly find it in himself to argue. Not when he was sitting in bed in pajamas and leaning against the wall for some support. “So what brings you here?”

“I said it earlier, didn’t I?” Takeshi rolled Daisuke’s chair closer to the bed. “I wanna make sure you’re okay. The Haradas seemed kinda shaken towards the end of the Dance Party and you weren’t anywhere in sight.”

“Ah, well, I just wasn’t feeling so…mm??” Daisuke’s eyes were caught by Takeshi’s hands, folded over the top of the chair.  His fingers were practically dancing atop each other, lightly twitching as if playing with camera settings or typing on a keyboard.

Something else was going on here, and whatever it was had Takeshi more bothered than he had seen his friend in a _very_ long time.

“Saehara,” Daisuke whispered, leaning slightly forward from his own position and staring his nervous friend in the eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“…I’m that obvious, eh?” Saehara scratched at his jawline sheepishly, an embarrassed grin on his face.

“A bit, yeah.” Daisuke managed a laugh, but he refused to look away from Takeshi for even a second.  He watched as Takeshi’s eyes scanned the room aimlessly, as his hands opened and close on the chair, as his feet arched back and forth.

For two minutes this continued, until Takeshi suddenly shot out of the chair so quickly it nearly fell over.  Daisuke, too, nearly fell backwards in sheer surprise.

“Bathroom!” Takeshi announced loudly, stiffly turning to the bedroom door.  “I’m going to the bathroom!”

And out he walked, just as stiffly

 **He’s being weird, even for him** , Dark observed with amusement, though Daisuke could feel the worry looming underneath.

Daisuke didn’t respond, instead choosing to listen to the sounds coming from the bathroom.  There was plenty of water splashing from the faucet, and he heard the towel rack shifting and squeaking from what he assumed was Takeshi using it to wash his hands.  But there was no flushing.

It was definitely a question that deserved asking, so Takeshi’s reappearance in Daisuke’s bedroom prompted raised eyebrows and a very confused stare.

“Ah…I needed some cold water on my face,” Takeshi admitted, much more sobered than he was when he arrived at the Niwa home, though his fingers were still jumping at his sides.  “I can see this conversation…going places.”

Takeshi took his seat back. He lowered his head, and took in a deep breath. “So, to put it frank, I heard some _unbelievable_ shit about what might have happened to you last night.”

Even without looking up, Takeshi could hear Daisuke stiffen up on his bed.

“What kind of stuff?” Daisuke asked, voice as even as he could possibly make it.

Takeshi started grinding his teeth, deep in thought. His eyes flitted towards Daisuke.

“Stuff that…may or may not include our favorite phantom thief.”

To Daisuke’s credit, he didn’t move too much or too drastically at Takeshi’s proclamation.  To his _discredit_ , however, Daisuke was never very good speaking under pressure.

“D-Dark?  But, he–there’s no way Dark could be at–he’d get caught _immediately_ if he showed–not even Risa would risk inviting him out th–”

 _Bam_ , right on the head. Daisuke distantly recognized Takeshi’s hand reaching out to touch his head through the pain.

“Oi oi oi, calm down.  I’m not done yet."  Takeshi slowly returned his arm to its former position on the chair and rested his head on top.  "I hear you two were wearing similar clothing….and pulled some kind of switcheroo. I don’t exactly know how reliable this informant is, but it matches some of the things I overheard the Haradas sayin’.”

Daisuke couldn’t move. He was certain even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to find the strength to do so.  After successfully keeping this secret for so long, after going through _so much_ and yet managing to come out mostly unscathed…so much of it was undone in the past 24 hours.

**Daisuke.**

_What?! I hope you have a good idea, because I’m not sure how we’re gonna get out of this one!_

**Tell him.**

“EH?!”

_CRASH._

_“…..WHAT THE HELL?_ ” Takeshi screamed from the floor, rubbing a sore spot on his elbow. “You go quiet for a whole minute and suddenly come out screaming like that…you doin’ okay upstairs?!”

**Daisuke, this might be good. For both of us. Saehara will probably only tell us more if we tell him.**

_But…_

**Not the whole story.  But enough.**

_…_

**Please, Daisuke**.

Daisuke’s eyes had wandered to his own hands as Dark spoke, totally oblivious to Takeshi’s mumbling complaints as he got off the floor.

Was this really okay?

Would telling Takeshi Saehara, son of the Inspector, really be _good_ for him?

As he thought of this, his vision slowly gravitated towards Takeshi, who was now returning the chair to it’s proper position.

Takeshi, his best friend.  Who had put him in as much trouble as he did get him out of it.  Who was one of the _only people_ who pushed Daisuke and rooted for him just because he wanted to.  Who was now looking at Daisuke with such genuine worry that it made his heart falter and his eyes water.

“Saehara,” he finally responded, voice barely above a whisper and shaking with equal parts fear and relief. “We have a _lot_ to talk about. Do you need to be anywhere today?”

Finally, Takeshi smiled genuinely. “Nah. Nothing’s more important than you right now, Daisuke.” And so he sat back down, ready to listen to Daisuke’s story.

“Well, _first_ …”

* * *

In a park, under a tree, a young man seemed to be listening to a most exciting story.

So excited was he that he began to mumble curses under his breath to ‘get to the good part already,’ arms flailing and feet stamping into the ground.  Passersby began to steer clear of this young lad, giving him all the more space to tantrum in.

Good thing too, else they would have been involved in the destruction he wreaked on the nearby bench with yells of  'DON’T PUT IT IN WATER YA NITWIT.’

He continued to tantrum until another young man, much more stoic in appearance, stopped him with a single hand on his shoulder.

Seemingly assuaged, he returned to the shade of the large sakura tree. He would just have to wait, it seemed.

* * *

It took an hour for Daisuke to relay the most important details to Takeshi.  Dark chimed in every once in a while, advising Daisuke in what details to expose and which to keep hidden.  Dark’s true nature and the “family business” aspect were obvious topics to keep unsaid, but some of the smaller details were still difficult to navigate.

Thankfully, despite Takeshi’s unrivaled insistence for the truth, he allowed Daisuke to keep quiet on where all the stolen items were hidden.

 _If only he knew_ …Daisuke thought wryly, using every ounce of concentration he had to prevent his gaze from pointing downward every time Takeshi asked.

“So, in summary,” Takeshi said, licking at his thumb and flipping through and imaginary notebook, “Dark inhabits your consciousness, he borrows your body to steal things, he has a reason that you can’t quite divulge, you hide those things _who knows where_ , and no one else knows.”

Daisuke nodded.  _That sounds like the right amount of information to have_.

“So about the Harada twins–”

Daisuke’s groan was really all Takeshi needed to hear.

“Look, I can use research as an excuse to get what they know. Especially if I add the angle of bein’ worried about you.” He patted Daisuke on the shoulder sympathetically. “I can kinda see why you don’t wanna let them in on this, so I’ll do what I can.”

“Thank you,” Daisuke sighed in relief. “Hopefully that’ll help.  Though they might tell you some, ah, well. You might hear some surprising stuff. Especially from Riku-san.”

“I see, I see, I’ll try to keep that in mi–” Takeshi tensed up suddenly, and for the second time stood up so quickly the chair and Daisuke made to fall over.

“ _You!_ ” His arms flailed widely before one of them finally settled at pointing towards Daisuke’s chest. “ _You were shot!_ ”

“I–huh? W-Wait, how do you know about that already?!”

Takeshi jumped on the bed with Daisuke, surprisingly dextrous hands making quick work of the buttons on his shirt.

“No, no wait, stop, don’t pull at that, I’m okay!”

He ignored Daisuke’s protestations, determined to see for himself that he really was okay. His patience ran thin by the time he reached the halfway point and, buttons be damned, Takeshi instead opted to pull the shirt open.

And the frantic scramble ceased. Takeshi slowly let go of Daisuke’s shirt and his hands fell to the bed as he collapsed on his knees in front of Daisuke.

There were no bullet wounds, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any markings at all.  Daisuke had long grown accustomed to the fading scars on his chest and arms, but he had also been very careful about revealing these marks to others.  So for Takeshi to see these scars for the first time when they were already so shallow and faded–to see them for the first time on the heel of so much more information–only meant one thing for him.

As far as Takeshi knew, Daisuke had been dealing with this alone, and that was a thought he couldn’t take.

“Dude…are you really okay?”

Any fear Daisuke had about telling Takeshi had disappeared, and the relief was so strong that it brought tears with it. “Yeah, I am, I promise.”

“Then why are you crying, you dumbass!”

“I-I don’t mean to! I’m just relieved!”

“Augh! Dumbass!”

Takeshi suddenly leaned forward and pulled Daisuke towards him in a quick, tight hug. He didn’t have the time to respond, let alone reciprocate, before Takeshi had moved away again, but he felt that it maybe wasn’t necessary.

“Shit, why did I never realize this before…I’m the real dumbass here.”

“Saehara…wait, that’s kinda mean, isn’t it?”

Takeshi quirked his eyebrow at Daisuke, but soon came to realize (thanks to his shiny new information) that he wasn’t the one Daisuke had directed his question at.

“So what did the tenant have to say?” Takeshi asked with more than a little amusement in his voice.

“…Ah,” Daisuke laughed awkwardly and scratched at the back of his head. “Well, I mean, he said it was because you didn’t want to.”

Takeshi was taken aback by the response, but laughed it off. “Ya know, he’s probably right. Didn’t wanna think a lot of things. ’s not hard to see why you kept it quiet, though.”

They smiled at each other in comfortable silence, Daisuke’s tears gone just as quickly as they arrived. They likely would have stayed like this for much longer had an alarm on Takeshi’s phone not gone off.

Cursing under his breath, Takeshi pulled the phone out of his pocket and angrily pounded the button.

“Something to do?”

“Yeah…this is something I gotta take care of before it bites me in the ass. But before I go, something kinda makes sense now, and I wanted to warn you about it.”

“W-warn me?” What could Takeshi possibly have to warn him about?

Takeshi nodded and leaned in closer. His voiced dropped low. “Stuff about Saga.”

Daisuke’s weary sigh at the name told Takeshi all he needed to know.

“I think he might know,” Daisuke admitted, putting his head in his hands. “I think he’s known from the _start_.”

“It was him–he was the one that told me. Especially the, ah. The gun…part.” When Daisukes head shot up, Takeshi looked away sheepishly.  “Be careful with him, and let me know if he does somethin’ weird. Alright?”

“…Alright.”

After such a stressful hour, Daisuke could feel the exhaustion wash back over him.  “You should probably go, I’m gonna pass out any second now.”

Takeshi got off the bed with a nod and began to gather his stuff up to leave, putting Daisuke’s chair back in the process. “Alright, I’m outta here. You get some sleep.”

Daisuke used the last of his energy to nod, and then he promptly passed out.

His body, though, was still moving.

Just as Takeshi reached the door, he heard a deep voice call his name.  He turned slowly, and upon looking at Daisuke immediately realized something.

“You’ve come to school like that before, haven’t you…Dark.”

“I have a favor to ask you. Will you hear it?”

* * *

Takeshi brusquely walked out of the Niwa residence and, as if on autopilot, made his way towards a small park nearby while deep in thought.

He had heard much in his visit.  And while Dark definitely had a point, it was also true that he had managed to put together many of the puzzle pieces himself. The last–the largest–was given to him by someone else.  It was thanks to that someone else that he was here now, with much more information that he ever could have hoped for.

But he wasn’t about to play into his hands any longer.

“Yo, Saehara-kun!” a figure called from a sakura tree in the center of the park.

“Cut the crap, Saga.” Takeshi fumed, quickly getting closer.

“Aw, come on, what happened to 'Sagacchi’! And what happened to keeping up your end of the de–”

A punch, the most honest one Takeshi had ever thrown, hit Saga square in the jaw and set him flying into the tree.  If it weren’t for Saga’s own resilience, it’s likely he would have been out for the count from a punch like that.

Funabashi stood quietly to the side, not moving even an inch.

“Where do you get away with short-circuiting the bug in the bathroom?” Saga asked evenly, standing up slowly and approaching Takeshi once more. “I gave you the info on Dark you were looking for, so ya shoulda kept up your end of the bargain. I assume you still have the tape recorder?”

Takeshi nodded, pulling it out from under his shirt.  Then, carefully, _deliberately_ , he pulled the tape from the old machine. With the most precise of movements, he dropped it on the ground–

And destroyed it, thoroughly, under his foot.

“Aaaah, Saehara-kun, that was the last bit we had!”

“What do you want with him?!” Takeshi grabbed the front of Saga’s shirt and pulled him closer. “I swear if you put him in any kind of danger–”

“I just want _confirmation_ , Saehara-kun.”

“Hah?!”

Saga calmly removed Takeshi’s hands from his short and patted himself down. “Well, I suppose you’ve guessed that I know…certain _things_ , already.”

Takeshi quietly fumed, eyes following Saga’s every move.

Saga scoffed quietly as he kicked the ground. “Tch. Nah, I’ve made my decision. Funabashi! Get those packages ready. We’re gonna run by the post office today, see if we can get them sent out.

"Man, screw that self-righteous prick. 'This is your destiny! It flows in your veins!’” He kicked the ground again, harder. “I’ve barely got a drop, no way in _hell_ I’m gonna let that dictate what I do. _He’s_ barely even involved, the dumbass, and he still wants to claim we’re some kinda close-knit family?! Nah, I’m not playin’ into that, no thank YOU! If the little prince can find it in himself to deviate, then I sure as hell am gonna as well!”

Takeshi watched in awe as Saga continued to rant. “Veins? Destiny? 'Little prince’?  What are you even rambling on about?”

“Saehara-kun!” Saga stopped in his tracks and, turning with precision, made a beeline for Takeshi. His face stopped two inches from Takeshi’s own.

“Y-yes?” Takeshi stammered

“Is Niwa-kun okay?”

“Who’s askin’?”

Saga ruminated, tongue pushing against the back of his teeth in thought. “A friend.”

**_'Saehara. I can’t tell you all the details, but I need you to protect him. Not from others–I can do that just fine.’_ **

_A cocky grin that slowly fades, and a dangerous shine in his eyes.  
_

**_'But from me.’_ **

**_'And from himself.’_ **

Takeshi stared Saga in the eyes, no longer wavering. “He will be.”


End file.
